The monthly Newsletter of Tuckahoe Presbyterian Church, 7000 Park Avenue, 804-282-2860;

www.tuckahoepres.org

The Torch

Volume 60, No. 8 August 2017

WELCOME BRUCE MCVEY!

The McVey family, Bruce, Jennifer (Jen), Reagan, and Robbie have been in our church for several months. As many of you know, Bruce is

a third year student at Union Presbyterian Seminary. His family has been a

wonderful blessing to our church. Jen is a school teacher and has helped lead in Vacation

Bible School and sits on the Christian Formation Committee and Reagan and Robbie have been active in Youth Group and Sunday School.

When Bruce approached me last year about the potential of doing an internship, I was ecstatic! Bruce, as you may know, is a second career student, with a very intriguing background as a

stockbroker on Wall Street (hopefully that has piqued your curiosity). I am not going to tell you an-ything more about his background, I encourage you to come to our Wednesday night Supper

on September 13 to hear his story. Bruce is currently doing a full-time summer-long Clinical Pastoral Education course through the

VA Hospital until August 18. He will begin his internship with us on Rally Day, August 27 and serve through April.

Our church has had great success with Union’s Supervised Ministry Program. As you may know, our former Youth Director Sarah (Pugh) Morgan came to us through it. However, unlike Sarah, Bruce will be covering the broad spectrum of ministry. In addition to assisting with the Youth

Group and in worship, he will be doing hospital visits, pastoral visits, teaching classes, as well as attending committee and staff meetings. A team of five members representing various ministries

will serve as a Mentoring Team: Kathy Bauer (Administration and Personnel), Walter Hogan (Worship and Membership), Alex Miller (Youth Group), Nancy Millsaps (Outreach),

Leslie Shimer (Christian Formation), along with Diane Prevary, Ginger Spence and me. We will meet with Bruce on a monthly basis to provide feedback to aid him in his professional development. We will also have the benefit of learning from his seminary training and church

background as he employs his unique gifts to further our mission and ministry. I hope you will join me in warmly welcoming Bruce to the role and continue to be in prayer for

him and his family as they continue on this part of their journey with us.

Blessings, Patrick

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CHRISTIAN FORMATION

ARE YOU A RISING MIDDLE

SCHOOLER OR A HIGH SCHOOL

STUDENT?

Beginning in September each Sunday we will have dinner and activities, fellowship, worship and/or outreach events

for all to enjoy. Bring a friend!! We are busy getting ready for the Fall. We can’t wait for the new year of youth group to begin. See you September!!

RALLY DAY AND LUNCHEON

Join us after church August 27th to learn about all the wonderful things that will be happening this church year.

We will preview Sunday School classes, Bible studies, mission opportunities, and other ways to be involved.

We will have a lunch of Jimmy John’s subs, chips, beverages and dessert, provided by the Fellowship Committee. Please

sign up to help us plan for sandwiches. Email Sarah at sdennis@tuckahoepres.org with any questions. You may sign up on the Friendship Pads on Sunday or on the event block on our web site.

IN THIS ISSUE

Patrick’s article 1

Christian Formation 2-4

Outreach 5

Around the Church 6-9

CHILDREN’S

SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS

NEEDED

It is that time again—to begin thinking about Sunday School for the church year. This year for children’s

Sunday School, we will be using a curriculum called Kid Connect. It is a fun and dynamic way to share

God’s Love. We will begin each week in a big group (all children, 4 years old—5th grade) to hear the Bible

Story and sing together and then, after about 15 minutes, we will break off into smaller age groups. We

would love to have you involved. You can sign up in Duntreath hall on Sundays or online

at www.SignUpGenius.com/go/5080E49A5AC22A2FA7-sunday .

Please sign up for the term and age group you would like. We need two adults per term.

We will have a Sunday School teachers

meeting Tuesday, August 22 at 7pm at church.

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CHRISTIAN FORMATION

MUSIC AND MISSION CAMP

All children ages 5-5th grade are invited to attend our Music and Mission Camp,

August 23 from 9-12 in Duntreath Hall. We will play games, play bells, make

blessing bags for those who are homeless in our community, and decorate worship bags. Parents are invited to come and be with us, or you may

drop children off for the morning. Lunch will be served. Cost: $12/child with a $20/family max.

If your child wishes to attend and you need help with transportation for your child, please let us

know by emailing Sarah Dennis at sdennis@tuckahoepres.org. Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/

e/1FAIpQLSftTGGGCUWrC7SeQyoyGv7Ejh1rdM6M11WoWWLEYsSyDldOHQ/viewform or on the event block on our TPC web site home page.

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL…”THANK YOU ALL”!

Thank you God for making us so wonderfully complex! And thank you for

Vacation Bible School. During the week of July 17, 86 children and 63 volunteers gathered to sing, dance, craft, play and share God’s love. Throughout the week, the children and volunteers learned that God made us, God is for us, God is with us always, God always loves us and that God made us for a reason. They made G.U.T.S.Y bears, gobots, human tables, climbed a wall and spied on those in the

Promised Land. They ran with water, ate yummy snacks and collected hundreds of school supplies for the children at Oak Grove-Bellemeade Elementary School.

It was a truly God-filled week and we could not have accomplished it without all those who volunteered their time to make it happen.

A special thank you to Tim Beane for all his work as Director! Mark your calendars, because the fun will be back next year July 16-20.

Christian formation

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WOMEN’S MINISTRY

WOMEN’S CONNECTION AT MONTREAT

We are so excited that there are 20 members of Tuckahoe registered to

attend the Women’s Connection Conference in Montreat, NC

August 11-13! Look for information in the

September Torch to hear about this wonderful time of nurture, nature and

faith exploration.

2017 WOMEN’S CONFERENCE

FOR EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON,

LOVING THE LIFE YOU ARE LIVING

Come spend the weekend loving, laughing and learning with other women. November 3-4 there will be a Women’s Conference, held locally at River Road

Presbyterian Church. Speaker Jamie Ivey will be with us, along with

workshops to attend, worship to be part of, meals and lots of fun with other women.

Check out the Facebook page:

facebook.com/rvawomensconference2017 or email sdennis@tuckahoepres.org for more information.

Mark your calendars; you are not going to want to miss this!

Jamie Ivey is a podcaster, writer, and speaker from Austin, Texas. She is the proud mama to four kids and the wife to

Aaron, worship pastor of The Austin Stone Community Church. Jamie loves to encourage women to passionately

follow Jesus through whatever stage of life. She does this through writing and her weekly podcast,

The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey. Jamie's debut book "If You Only Knew: My Unlikely,

Unavoidable Story of Becoming Free” releases January 2018.

OUTREACH

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MISSION TEAM

THANK YOU FROM ASP

Tuckahoe Presbyterian Church, Thank you for your wonderful week of service. We appreciate everything you

guys have done and will continue to do! Please keep supporting this mission and

come back next year. We encourage everyone to bring a friend so we can

continue to help more families each year! Blessings, The Wise Co. Staff

A HUGE THANK YOU TO OUR 2017 MISSION TEAM Robins Buck Lucky Wroniewicz Colin Hogg Steve Kramer Leslie Shimer Harrison Carr Marshall Cooke Mary Chris Werner A. W. Dickerson Rusty Dickerson Shannon Galt Jim McLeskey

STAY TUNED FOR INFORMATION ON

UPCOMING OUTREACH COMMITTEE EVENTS TO

PUT OUR MISSION STATEMENT INTO

ACTION!

Coming this fall—our annual Stop Hunger Now event in late October and the Outreach Committee’s “Soup Sale” to raise Mission Trip Funds coming in early

November.

Called by God to be the heart, voice, hands and feet of

Christ where the Spirit leads us.

DONATION THANK YOU!

Thanks to the anonymous donation of cleaning supplies, toiletries, and baby items for Hilliard

House. Due to your generosity 26 items for cleaning, 9 baby items, and 5 large boxes of toiletries were delivered to Hilliard House. These items will be used for maintaining a

clean facility for the families housed there or will be given to the families as they transition to a more permanent living situation.

Your kindness is greatly appreciated.

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AROUND THE CHURCH

TAKE ME OUT TO THE

BALL GAME!

Let’s go to a baseball game! On Thursday, August 10 at 7:00 p.m., the Richmond Flying Squirrels will be

playing Portland at the Diamond. General admission tickets are $8.00.

As in the past, there will be some tickets that are donated but we don’t know exactly how many at this time. There may be as

many as 30-35 tickets. Getting together for this event has always been such fun so let’s all get together for an evening of family fun and support our local Richmond

Flying Squirrels! Deadline for ticket reservations is Sunday, August 6th!

Questions? Please see Kit Crawford for more information. And remember, we will gather in Section 206. There are no reserved seats.

THANK YOU NOTES

Tom and Julia Adair write: We would like to thank our wonderful church family for all of the support during William’s hospitalization. We appreciated the visits from Patrick and Ginger as well as youth group members and other faithful friends. We are so blessed to be a part of this caring congregation!

Kitsey Watkins writes: My Tuckahoe friends, Thanks for remembering me with the beautiful plants and flowers and visits. They hold a special place in my life and heart. Fondly, Kitsey

WE OFFER OUR CHRISTIAN

SYMPATHIES TO THESE MEMBERS

OF OUR CHURCH FAMILY

Henry Brockenbrough and his family on the death of Mary Lane on Monday, July 10th.

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AROUND THE CHURCH

A NOTE FROM THE CHURCH TREASURER

Applause! Applause! Applause! As of the end of the second quarter of our fiscal year, June 30, 2017, members of our

congregation and guests have provided $245,978.65 in envelope contributions toward the operating budget figure of $477,000 (49%).

Tuckahoe has also received $1,701.81 in loose offering and $1,003.97 for the CentsAbility program. Sixty per cent of the CentsAbility contributions are forwarded

to the Presbytery of the James for use in their hunger program in Central Virginia and Haiti. The remainder of the contributions underwrite the costs associated with

our lunch program for Liberation Family Services. Finally, our church received $759 in contributions to the Pentecost Offering and $1,840 to support the mission trip, beyond the amount provided by participants. Forty per cent of the Pentecost Offering remains at TPC to support programs for

children at risk. On behalf of the Stewardship & Finance Committee and other Session committees, I

would like to express our gratitude for your continued generosity. Richard A. Mateer, Church Treasurer

SHARING OUR BLESSINGS

PUTTING OUR BLESSINGS TO WORK

“And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.”

II Corinthians 9:8

KROGER REWARDS…A REMINDER

YOU HAVE TO RENEW YOUR

ENROLLMENT EACH YEAR!

For the second quarter of 2017 our Outreach ministries were the beneficiary of $348.62 in funds from the Kroger

rewards program! And that is with only 35 families signed up! Think we could do if more of you could sign up for this fabulous program that pays non-profits for shoppers spending $$ in their stores. If you haven’t

signed up yet, call the church office and Mary will help you with the registration. (This does NOT affect your fuel rewards you receive from shopping at Kroger.)

If you have registered— a HUGE thank you for designating Tuckahoe as a recipient of your shopping rewards and a reminder that you have to re-register each year. So

check your registration to see if it is time for you to set this back up for Tuckahoe. All you need is your Kroger rewards card number and our NPO number (86957).

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AROUND THE CHURCH

SUMMER ENRICHMENT SERIES

RELIGION AND THE FOUNDING FATHERS

The three-part Summer Enrichment Series – Religion and the Founding Fathers - will be led by Rev. Hal Breitenberg beginning Wednesday, August 2 and

continuing the next two Wednesdays, August 9 and 16th in Duntreath Hall at 6:30 p.m. This series will examine the religious beliefs and practices of America's

Founding Fathers, including their views of Christianity and various denominations along with their personal faiths and religious practices. We will learn about the Founders’ conceptions of God, history, and morality as well as how these views

influenced their understandings of America, shaped their ideas about government, and were expressed in documents such as the Declaration of Independence,

Constitution, and Bill of Rights. In addition, we will discuss the importance of religion for several “forgotten Founders,” including women. Throughout the series we will consider the significance that religion and the Founding Fathers have today,

both for religion in America and for the United States itself.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT SERIES AUGUST 2, 9, AND 16

6:30 P.M. Duntreath Hall

Plan to come to church at 6:00 on August 2, 9, and 16 before the program starts. Bring a heavy hors d’oeuvre

to share on the 2nd, bring a salad to share on August 9th, and the Fellowship Committee will provide desserts on August 16th if you would like to

participate. Of course you are welcome to come just for the program at 6:30 if you wish.

NEW CLEANING CREW AT WORK AT

TUCKAHOE

A new cleaning crew will be cleaning the Tuckahoe facilities on Monday evenings and all day on Fridays. We seek your help in

helping them to do the best job they can! There are forms in the hall “Cleaning Crew” mailbox outside the office where you can report

any areas of the church that need particular attention from the cleaning crew. Please fill out one of the forms and place it back in

the mailbox so that they can address the problem area. This will expedite the process rather than trying to report the problem to a member of the Property Committee and

assuming he/she will convey the request. If the problem persists, however, please feel free to let Ann Watson or Camellia Wroniewicz know so that it can be addressed

correctly. Thank you for your help with our efforts to make Tuckahoe the best (and cleanest!) possible place to worship together!

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AROUND THE CHURCH

THE TUCKAHOE BOOK CLUB

All ages, stages and literary preferences are welcome! The group meets on the last Monday of

the month September – May at 7:00 p.m. in members’ homes. Join us for good conversation

and fellowship. The next meeting is September 25th at the

home of Becky Theuer. Mickey Mateer will be the book reviewer and the September book is

The Paris Wife, by Paula McLain.

ALL CHURCH READ

The Tuckahoe Book Club invites the congregation to join us in Duntreath Hall on October 30th at 7:00 p.m. when we meet to discuss

Lila by Marilynne Robinson.

Marilynne Robinson, known for her lyrical prose and engagement with Christian

theology, returns to the town of Gilead in an unforgettable story of a girlhood lived on the

fringes of society. Lila, homeless and alone after years of roaming the countryside, steps inside a small-town Iowa church to get out of the rain. This ignites a romance and a debate that will reshape her life. She becomes the wife of a minister and begins a new existence as she tries to live

within this new found security. Lila struggles to reconcile her past life with her

makeshift family and gentle Christian world of her husband which paradoxically judges

those she loves. Read the book and then join us for discussion on the eve of Halloween!

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TUCKAHOE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Tuckahoe Staff Patrick Dennis, Pastor

Mark Cain, Director of Music Ministries Sarah Cothern, Assistant Director of Music Ministries

Sarah Dennis, Director of Christian Formation Mary McGee, Office Administrator Diane Prevary, Parish Associate

Ginger Spence, Director of Visitation Telephone: 804-282-2860

E-mail: office@tuckahoepres.org Website: http://www.tuckahoepres.org

OUR MISSION STATEMENT: Called by God, to be the heart, voice,

hands and feet of Christ where

the Spirit leads us.

The Torch is a monthly newsletter of Tuckahoe Presbyterian Church. Deadline is the 18th of each month. Editor-Mary McGee; email: office@tuckahoepres.org

7000 Park Avenue Richmond, VA 23226-3624